The two people and the divine beast arrived in Belluang, the most vibrant and bustling town in the region.
Its commercial district was thriving, a night market was held every week, and traveling troupes frequently stopped by to perform.
“Waaah! Look over there!”
[Ki-ki!]
Vivian’s eyes sparkled as if she had stepped into another world, excitement puffing from her like breath in winter air. Seeing her so thrilled, Kiki beside her let out an eager chirp of his own, getting caught up in her mood.
“First, we’ll exchange the jewels for money, then buy a carriage. That way we can have our luggage transported properly. Clothes can come after that, alright, Vivi?”
“Yes!”
Truthfully, clothes didn’t matter at all. Not really.
It was her first time seeing so many people, her first time seeing buildings so tall. Compared to that, something like clothing felt insignificant.
“After that, we’ll go to a restaurant, eat something good, and look around the town too.”
“Yes, yes! That sounds amazing!”
Vivian bounced on her feet in excitement.
The carriage came to a stop.
“Alright, we’re here. Let’s get down, princess. Careful now.”
“Okay!”
Jean lifted Vivian down from the carriage with ease. Kiki, perched on her shoulder, didn’t need any help getting down.
Jean glanced around, then lowered his voice as he spoke to Kiki.
“Um… Divine Beast. Just in case, I should mention this—please don’t wander off on your own. The people here have never seen a monkey before. You might get… sold off or something.”
[How dare you underestimate me! If anyone tries anything foolish, I’ll turn into a shark and bite them all to pieces! Don’t worry!]
“He says he’ll turn into a shark and bite anyone who tries anything funny! So don’t worry!”
Jean pressed a hand to his forehead. A shark? In a place where people had never even seen the sea? The image alone was nightmarish.
“That… is absolutely not allowed. Just stay on Vivian’s shoulder at all times. And Vivian—you’re not allowed to talk to the Divine Beast out loud while we’re outside. Understand?”
[So that’s where your cheekiness comes from… I see it now. You take after your father, Vivian.]
“Ki-ki, who exactly are you calling cheeky?”
At Vivian’s retort, Kiki fell silent as if his mouth had been stuffed with honey.
Jean led Vivian into a jewelry shop.
Inside stood a large man who looked like a guard, and behind the counter, a shop owner wearing a monocle.
“Welcome.”
The monocled man—presumably the owner—quickly sized them up.
Neat clothes, but clearly outdated fashion. The child looked thin, like she hadn’t been eating properly. Father and daughter, though… both had strikingly beautiful faces. Probably just ordinary customers.
That was his immediate judgment.
Then his eyes widened slightly when he noticed the monkey clinging to the child.
“What kind of animal is that?”
“A monkey. They’re common in a faraway land known as the New Continent.”
“Oh? An animal from the New Continent… how interesting. It’s quite cute.”
[Heh. This old human has decent eyes.]
Hearing that it was from the New Continent subtly upgraded the owner’s evaluation of his customers.
“Are you here to buy a gift?”
“No. I’ve come to sell some jewels.”
Jean reached into his pouch.
He had only brought out a small portion—enough that it would fit in one bag. If he exchanged too many at once, they wouldn’t be properly valued.
“Ah, I see. I’ll need some time for appraisal. Please wait a moment.”
“Understood. Vivian, let’s stay here quietly.”
“Okay…”
It was her first time in a shop like this, and Vivian felt strangely intimidated.
She leaned toward Kiki and whispered softly.
“Isn’t this place amazing? There are so many jewels.”
[So what if there are jewels? What’s the big deal?]
“Oh… right.”
Now that she thought about it, this divine beast had once slept inside a treasure chest overflowing with jewels. Of course he wouldn’t be impressed.
While Vivian looked around the shop with curious eyes, the appraisal was completed.
“These are high-quality gemstones. May I ask where they came from?”
“They were my wife’s belongings.”
In truth, they had come from a treasure chest.
The “belongings of his wife” story was something Jean used as a cover—most of her assets had already been sold off during business liquidation, and what remained were pieces she had worn so often that he couldn’t bear to part with them.
“Oh, my apologies. I only asked because there’s no certificate. In general, the stones are large, clear, and beautifully colored. However, the craftsmanship is a bit lacking. If you look here, you can see the cut is slightly dull. The symmetry is also off. From certain angles, instead of appearing transparent and brilliant, they may look somewhat flat. It doesn’t seem like the work of a skilled artisan.”
“Is that so?”
Jean responded cautiously, suspicion creeping into his tone. To his eyes, the jewels were flawless.
He began to wonder if the shop owner was trying to undervalue them.
“I believe… all of these together would be worth about one thousand gold. That’s already a very generous estimate.”
One thousand gold was several years’ worth of living expenses for an average family. In fact, many people would never even touch that amount in their lifetime.
However, this valuation was only about half of what Jean’s own experience suggested. As his suspicion deepened—
Kiki, sitting on Vivian’s shoulder, snorted.
[Vivian, that old human is trying to scam your father.]
“Huh?”
[Those jewels were once part of the imperial treasury. Of course they were cut by the finest artisans using the highest-quality materials! To dismiss treasures that were stored with me… how impudent!]
Vivian only caught one thing clearly: the shop owner was trying to cheat Jean.
And that was enough.
She tugged gently at Jean’s sleeve.
“Vivi?”
“Dad… wait a second.”
Jean didn’t scold her for interrupting. Instead, he bent down slightly, trusting her judgment.
“Dad… that man is trying to scam you.”
“…And how do you know that?”
“Kiki told me. He said the jewels came from the imperial treasury, and that they’re all top quality. He’s really angry.”
“The imperial treasury…?”
A glint of realization flashed in Jean’s eyes.
It did seem strange that the divine beast—said to have been left behind by the founding dragon of the empire—had been found on a deserted island instead of the imperial palace.
Perhaps something had happened, and it had drifted out there by accident.
Jean lifted his chin and replied to the shop owner.
“Then I suppose we’ll look elsewhere.”
“W-what?”
“I should find someone who can properly recognize the value of these jewels. Do you think I came here not knowing their worth?”
“Sir! We run an honest and transparent business! We would never cheat customers who don’t know better!”
“Still… your eye for craftsmanship seems lacking. Vivi, let’s go. There’s another jewelry shop nearby.”
“W-wait, please! I’ll raise the price by another five hundred gold!”
Hearing that they might leave for a competitor, the owner rushed out from behind the counter to stop them.
But Jean had already lost all trust. He had no intention of continuing a deal with someone he no longer believed in.
Fortunately, the next jewelry store offered a fair price, and Jean made a very satisfactory deal.
Now comfortably wealthy, Jean smiled as he spoke to Vivian.
“Thank you, Vivi. If not for you, we wouldn’t have sold them for such a good price. I did suspect the first offer was too low, but hearing it from the divine beast gave me certainty. Otherwise, I might have settled for less. And thank you as well, Divine Beast.”
Jean had seen high-quality jewels before in his past life, but he was not a trained appraiser, nor did he know current market prices.
[Heh. Bow before me, human!]
Kiki stood proudly on Vivian’s shoulder, puffing out his tiny chest.
“—before me!”
Vivian, caught up in the praise, also puffed out her chest.
After securing a substantial amount of money, Jean bought a covered carriage Vivian had never seen before, hired a driver, and led her onward to their next destination.
In front of a refined-looking shop.
Vivian couldn’t read the sign yet, so she had no idea what kind of place it was.
“Dad, where is this?”
“Hmm. This is where we’ll make pretty clothes for our princess.”
“Pretty clothes! Yay!”
[Make mine too, human!]
